


The Mystic

by Svartalfhild



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Implied Crush, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 07:29:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10406997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Svartalfhild/pseuds/Svartalfhild
Summary: Aloth has only known the Watcher for a couple of days and he's curious to learn more about her.





	

Gilded Vale was a miserable place.  Even the pouring rain could not fully wash away the stench of the rotting bodies that hung from the great tree at the center of the town.  A part of Lann was glad that she could not make her new home here, but even so, she been left homeless, alone, and still shaking from her illness and the memory of the bîaŵic.

But in the midst of this rain-soaked, hopeless village, she had found two men who did not make her feel unwelcome.  They now sat with her in the warmth of the inn, sharing a hot meal after returning from saving the cook in the Valewood.  She had known them both no more than a couple of days, yet she already found herself liking them quite a lot.  Aloth was an odd man and she sensed something off about his soul, but he had an intelligence and wit about him that Lann rather enjoyed.  Edér was very different in many ways, but also had a cleverness and quiet charm.  He was a direct and honest person who was warmer and more laid-back than any man she had met before.

Both Aloth and Edér had shown her kindness and acceptance in a place where there otherwise was none, but what truly surprised her was that when she touched their minds with her own, she found no ulterior motive to their kindness.  Where she was from, no one did anything for anyone without some selfish purpose.  It was part of why she had left, because she with her charitable heart could not exist forever in such a place, but these two were just good by nature.  She hoped that she wasn’t wrong about them and that they would soon become her dear friends.

They were certainly doing well so far.  Once they had shaken off the cold of the rain, conversation seemed to come much more easily.  Lann watched Edér feed the shaggy black hound they had found in the upper floor of the inn where they were staying.  It was no doubt the beast for which the inn was named.  Already, Edér loved the dog as any master would love a pet they had had for many years.  They man clearly had a weakness for animals and Lann thought it quite endearing.  Aloth, now that he was comfortable, was proving to be an engaging conversation partner.

“If you don’t mind my asking, I’d like to hear more about where you’re from,” he put forth after taking a big sip from his mug of ale.  She was unsurprised by the curiosity.  She hadn’t been the most forthcoming about her origins.  It was part of the air of mysteriousness that she cultivated for the benefit of her profession.  The inquiry didn’t bother her.  She had nothing to hide any longer, now that she was so far from those she had been escaping.

“I’m from an awful little village in the White that Wends.  I’ve never known any season but the most bitter of winters and the people are equally cold and unforgiving.  I wouldn’t recommend visiting.”  At this blunt description, Aloth raised his dark eyebrows, seeming a bit surprised by her honesty, but then he gave her a slight smile.

“Well, you’ve certainly made it clear as to why you left.  I cannot imagine what that life must be life for someone so kind spirited as you.”  The compliment brought a heat to her cheeks that had never felt before and looked determinedly at her plate, poking a potato repeatedly with her fork.

“Yes, quite unbearable,” she replied, unable to stop herself from grinning.

“What did you do there?  You’ve shown yourself to be good with a knife.”  The question was innocent enough, but the answer was less so and decidedly complicated.

“My true weapon is my mind.  The knife is a distraction,” she replied, her smile quickly fading.  Aloth’s eyes widened in realization.

“You’re a cipher.”  His tone was not one of condemnation, which was a relief to Lann, but neither was he excited by the news, it seemed.  He was simply shocked (and perhaps a little intrigued) and she knew that that could turn sour if she gave him the wrong impression.

“Yes.  I am no assassin or spy, much to the disappointment of many.  I was a mystic.  People would come to me looking for advice or treatment from mental illness and I gave it to them.  By the time I was just twenty, I knew every dirty secret in the village.  I was respected for it.  Pressing me for the secrets of others was taboo and I became the ultimate neutral party in the place.  I did everything I could to encourage it, not just because it enhanced my enigmatic image, but also because it protected me, allowed me to escape the conflicts my mother was involved in.  It didn’t protect me from outsiders, however.”

Lann paused, her mind flooding with memories of things she would rather forget.  The scarred, stubbly chin of the slaver at the village inn.  The smell of her burning hut, with its stock of herbs and potions mingling in the smoke.  The sound of her own heart pounding in her ears as she ran away in the cover of night.  She took a deep breath, trying to chase away the ghosts of her past and find the focus to continue.

“Apparently word of my abilities traveled to other villages.  A group of slavers came, pretending to be simple merchants, but I knew them for what they were the moment they were close enough for me to read their thoughts.  Their leader had a warlord friend who would have great use for me and pay in mounds of silver to have me.”

“How did you evade them?” Aloth asked, looking nothing shot of horrified.

“When they came for me, I locked them in my hut and set it ablaze.  While the rest of the village was busy trying to put out the flame and rescue these despicable men, I slipped away and didn’t look back until the glaciers were a line on the horizon.  Shortly thereafter, I had a vision of this place and decided that it was where I was supposed to find a new home.”

It felt like a great burden off her chest to tell the story and to tell it to someone she strangely trusted.  She had been so used to carrying her burdens alone that this was an amazing new experience.  Even so, she still felt vulnerable and watched Aloth carefully for his reaction.  She could see a mix of emotions come across his sharp face, but it eventually settled on deep sympathy.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured.  “You got away from all that, only to find no land to be had and a society that hangs people like you out of zealous ignorance.”“It’s still better here,” Lann responded with a resilient smile.

“How?”

“I’m not alone anymore.”  She looked Aloth directly in the eyes as she said this, making sure to convey her appreciation.

 “No, you’re not.”  There was a gleam of conviction in his gaze that brought her smile to a bashful grin.  She brushed a still-wet lock of white-blonde hair from the side of her face and lifted up her mug.

“To new friends.”

“To new friends.”  They smacked their ales together and drank deeply, drawing Edér’s attention away from the dog he had been so intently playing with.

“We toasting to something?  What’d I miss?”

“We were just celebrating the joy of not being alone,” Lann laughed into her mug.

“I’ll drink to that,” the human replied, giving her and Aloth a big, warm smile.

Yes, she thought; she wouldn’t trade them for anything.


End file.
